Fashion Copioustag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-14311132015-06-17T12:59:58-04:00TypePad"The New Wave of Fashion Advertising"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401b7c7a0261d970b2015-06-17T12:59:58-04:002015-06-17T12:59:58-04:00AnOther Magazine: Fashion advertising is an arena that, over the past few years, has evolved into an artistic entity of its own. As brands seek to consolidate and communicate a message that extends beyond the clothes they are putting onto...John

Fashion advertising is an arena that, over the past few years, has evolved into an artistic entity of its own. As brands seek to consolidate and communicate a message that extends beyond the clothes they are putting onto the rails, those at the top of their game have eschewed traditional handbag shots and replaced them with montages that speak to a broader picture of lifestyle luxury – and Jamie Hawkesworth is often the man responsible.

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In a market saturated with disposable imagery, it seems as though sustained success is coming from advertising with aesthetic longevity. Earlier this week in The Washington Post, Sarah Halzack noted that, in spite of an ever-expanding post-recession luxury market, flashy, logo-heavy glamour is no longer in Vogue – a trend that is seeing profits fall for megabrands like Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton while those of their smaller counterparts (like Loewe and Miu Miu, also featuring Hawkesworth-shot campaigns) rise. "These are [brands] that really control the supply, and therefore they manipulate the market and the desire for their products,” explains luxury marketer Thomai Serdari – and, with the release of Gucci's new campaign video and imagery this week, which has Glen Luchford documenting a softly intimate, Wes Anderson-style shoot and short film, it is clear that the big brands are paying attention.

Post-pubescenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb083fd8ab970d2015-06-09T16:24:23-04:002015-06-09T16:24:23-04:00T Style: Ashley Brokaw: Fashion’s Most Unlikely Power Player BROKAW GREW UP in England, attended boarding school in Connecticut and interned after 11th grade with Woody Allen’s casting director Juliet Taylor. Before her formal training in the fashion industry —...John

BROKAW GREW UP in England, attended boarding school in Connecticut and interned after 11th grade with Woody Allen’s casting director Juliet Taylor. Before her formal training in the fashion industry — doing casting for Bruce Weber’s Abercrombie & Fitch shoots — she studied international law at Georgetown. Much of her job, serving as buffer between artist and (often moody) adolescent model, looks quite a bit like statecraft. “I always say to the girls, ‘If you have a problem, come to me. Don’t go to the designer, don’t go to the stylist, don’t complain to anybody, come complain to me.’ ” Her job requires mastery of seemingly oppositional skill sets: the ability to perceive the human form with an almost cruel objectivity and the simultaneous capacity for maternal tenderness. For all her artistic vision, Brokaw often plays the role of high school guidance counselor. She has sent girls home from castings and shows for being too thin or obviously on drugs. Other forms of coaching are achieved discreetly in conversations with agents. “Sometimes I will say, ‘Get her teeth fixed.’ Sometimes I will say, ‘She needs to get her skin cleared up; she needs to drink more water.’ ” Brokaw recommends dance and yoga to the less coordinated girls, and lots of practice walking in heels to the fawnlike girls whose “legs just aren’t strong enough to hold the weight of their body.”

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Brokaw likes to meet parents — to assess their level of support but also, if the girl is not yet post-pubescent, to get a sense of how tall she might end up.

A Peek At How The New Style.com Will Operatetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb083c2593970d2015-06-03T13:29:00-04:002015-06-03T13:29:00-04:00WWD: Publishing and Commerce: Will it Work? Her competitors include Condé Nast’s rejiggered Style.com, which is expected to launch its new e-commerce model in September. According to Franck Zayan, president of global e-commerce at Condé Nast and Condé Nast International,...John

Her competitors include Condé Nast’s rejiggered Style.com, which is expected to launch its new e-commerce model in September. According to Franck Zayan, president of global e-commerce at Condé Nast and Condé Nast International, Style.com will be a marketplace in which brands will provide information on their products. Style.com will handle the transactions, and the fulfillment will be done by the brands. Customers will not be directed to the brands’ sites, and Style.com will not charge the brands to appear on the site, Zayan said, but the publisher will take a commission on the transactions.

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Not that the editors aren’t getting involved. According to a source, a few weeks ago, Zayan met with all of Condé Nast’s editors in chief in New York to discuss how the company plans to integrate e-commerce into all of its titles via a new platform developed by the company. The integration will be spearheaded by former Asos creative director Melissa Dick, who was hired by Condé Nast in April to serve as its editorial director of e-commerce, WWD has learned.

Gabriella Crespitag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb082defaa970d2015-05-13T14:30:16-04:002015-05-13T14:30:16-04:00WSJ Magazine: Italian Designer Gabriella Crespi Returns After decades spent out of the spotlight, Gabriella Crespi, known for her singular furniture designs, launched new pieces at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan—and is poised to make a comeback ......John

After decades spent out of the spotlight, Gabriella Crespi, known for her singular furniture designs, launched new pieces at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan—and is poised to make a comeback

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The fashion industry has long embraced Crespi’s aesthetic. “She was boho chic before boho chic existed,” says Italian Vogue’s editor, Franca Sozzani, who owns one of Crespi’s coveted Z desks. Sergio Rossi dedicated a collection of shoes to her designs, Fendi started installing Crespi furniture in its flagships and Stella McCartney, who had been a collector of her work, sold her jewelry at her boutiques. “I was immediately drawn to the warmth and the femininity,” she says. In 2008, McCartney adds, “I totally sought her out, wrote her a letter and asked if we could meet for tea. We met at a hotel in Milan, and I learned about her life, her warmth and all that she has been able to achieve as a woman in design. Our relationship really built off from that, and we stayed in touch and still write each other notes. She is an incredible woman with such strength, and yet there is a sense of fragility. It’s a special combination.” The sunglasses Crespi wears every day now are gifts from McCartney.

The Greatest Mob Movie Ever?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401b7c786464b970b2015-05-07T00:08:22-04:002015-05-07T00:08:22-04:00- Playboy May 2015 Goodfellas, per the copy above. Godfather or Goodfellas?... that's a hard call. Playboy: Martin Scorses's Goodfellas At 25: The Making Of The Mafia's Ultimate Home Movie The film was originally called Wiseguy, then Made Men, then...John

The film was originally called Wiseguy, then Made Men, then Good Fellas, but on preview night Saul Bass’ Psycho-influenced title sequence read simply Goodfellas. Warner Bros. had slotted the movie to debut at the 47th Venice International Film Festival in early September and planned to release it in nearly 2,000 U.S. theaters on September 21, months ahead of the year’s most anticipated gangster movie, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part III.

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But once the Goodfellas sneak preview got rolling, things went haywire, right from the hero’s first line of narration: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”

“People started running out of that theater like the place was on fire,” recalls Winkler today. “We had 38 walkouts alone after the scene where Joe Pesci’s character, Tommy DeVito, knifes the body of Billy Batts in the trunk of a car. And that was just the beginning of the movie. The screening didn’t go badly. It was disastrous.”

Cathy Horyn Get's the Juergen Teller Treatmenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb082697f7970d2015-04-30T14:21:24-04:002015-04-30T14:21:24-04:00Cathy Horyn by Juergen Teller for System No.5. BoF brings you an exclusive excerpt from a 15,000-word conversation: I’m fascinated by how fashion critics are able to assimilate and pass judgement in what used to be a matter of hours,...John

I’m fascinated by how fashion critics are able to assimilate and pass judgement in what used to be a matter of hours, but is now probably a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds.

First of all, I should say I don’t go to a lot of shows, not nearly as many as the other people do, because I only want to write about the newsmakers. I don’t want to feel like I have to go, believe me I’ve done that. But when you’re seeing these collections, season after season, you can sit at a show and know in a heartbeat what’s new, what’s striking, what’s newsworthy.

David Chase Explains How He Created The Excruciating Tension Of The Last Scene Of The Sopranostag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb0825ede4970d2015-04-29T13:21:33-04:002015-04-29T13:21:33-04:00DGA: This Magic Moment Eight years after it aired, the finale of The Sopranos continues to be hotly debated. David Chase explains how he created the excruciating tension of the last scene. What he won't say is what happened at...John

Eight years after it aired, the finale of The Sopranos continues to be hotly debated. David Chase explains how he created the excruciating tension of the last scene. What he won't say is what happened at the end.

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It was my decision to direct the episode such that whenever Tony arrives someplace, he would see himself. He would get to the place and he would look and see where he was going. He had a conversation with his sister that went like this. And then he later had a conversation with Junior that went like this. I had him walk into his own POV every time. So the order of the shots would be Tony close-up, Tony POV, hold on the POV, and then Tony walks into the POV. And I shortened the POV every time. So that by the time he got to Holsten's, he wasn't even walking toward it anymore. He came in, he saw himself sitting at the table, and the next thing you knew he was at the table.

A seemingly random image surrounded by vast expanses of blank page is, of course, something of a Teller trademark, denoting, specifically, his 15-year run (1998 to 2013) shooting ad campaigns for Marc Jacobs. Teller talks fondly about working with Jacobs. “Just like with Helmut, Marc and I understood each other right away. We both had this total interest in culture and people, so we became friends.” In the early years, Teller says he worked for Jacobs for free. “But I wanted to do it, because it was very inspiring and super-exciting.” In exchange, however, he asked for complete creative control of the ads. "I said, if I am not getting paid, I am in control of how big the type is, the layout, if there's a frame around the picture, how many pictures are used and it will say ‘Claudia Schiffer’ — or whoever was featured — ‘photographed by Juergen Teller.’"

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The Marc Jacobs ads are also a good example of his favoured ways of working. While some of the images suggest that they were spur-of-the-moment shots, in fact, “everything is completely thought through and planned.” Each image is the result of communication. “The way you get to a good photograph is through conversation. There is always a serious discussion, of who would be a good subject or model, where we should we shoot. It's always a long dialogue. Well, sometimes it's quick and evident and sometimes it can drag itself out.”

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“It’s hard work. You need to be educated about photography and have a deep knowledge of the medium’s history, its whole spectrum. It’s a serious profession and a lot of education and craft is involved in creating work. Moreover, you can’t be afraid of not earning any money or of rejection. If you’re open and positive, fashion can give you extraordinary access and incredible opportunities, and allow you to meet the most amazing people. If you’re courageous, it will open doors and lead you to places and situations you couldn’t have dreamt of.”

The Mystery Of America’s Greatest Cocktail Bartag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401b8d10425eb970c2015-04-16T15:41:49-04:002015-04-16T15:42:13-04:00Philly Mag: The Mystery of Lê From Hop Sing Laundromat This much we know: Behind an unmarked door in Chinatown sits what may be America’s greatest cocktail bar, Hop Sing Laundromat. But the truth about the man who created it?...John

This much we know: Behind an unmarked door in Chinatown sits what may be America’s greatest cocktail bar, Hop Sing Laundromat. But the truth about the man who created it? That’s where things get trickier.

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Hop Sing is a phenomenon. A mystery bar with no sign, no phone. Just rules, and some of the greatest cocktails in the United States. And Lê? He built Hop Sing. Runs it. Which, alone, might be enough to make telling a story about him worthwhile, but the bar isn’t the end of him. And it’s certainly not the beginning.

Instatag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ef96453883401bb08128a4b970d2015-03-30T12:53:12-04:002015-03-30T12:53:12-04:00AdWeek: Millennial Models Like Gigi Hadid, Fueled by Social, Are Hitting the Fashion Stratosphere Fans favor bold personalities, not just beauty ... It's that social media clout—not to mention the stunning face, killer body and irresistible personality—that has helped propel...John

Millennial Models Like Gigi Hadid, Fueled by Social, Are Hitting the Fashion Stratosphere Fans favor bold personalities, not just beauty

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It's that social media clout—not to mention the stunning face, killer body and irresistible personality—that has helped propel Hadid, seemingly overnight, from up-and-coming model to global fashion celebrity. And brands have taken notice. Over the past year, Hadid has scored big contracts with the likes of Tom Ford, Victoria's Secret Pink and Maybelline.

Along with contemporaries like Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss and Cara Delevingne, Hadid is part of a new wave of digitally savvy models taking the fashion industry by storm. Dubbed "the Instagirls" by Vogue, these millennial models have achieved success both in the realm of high fashion and the commercial world—a rarity since the supermodel era of the '90s. These days, some models are just as likely to be found on the Paris runways as in the pages of a celebrity weekly or Taylor Swift's latest Instagram post—or in Kloss' case, on the cover of Vogue with her good friend Swift.